“When the political will is there, these things happen, one way or another,” he said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office did not answer specific questions about the O’Hare construction project or its latest budget estimates. In a statement, the aviation department said the city was continuing to work with airlines on the project, “including program budget and impacts on operations.”

The aviation department later issued another, lengthy statement, saying it was in a “formal review” process with the airlines about the order of construction, and would provide more detailed updates about the next steps when the process was finished. The mayor and city are committed to “responsibly” developing O’Hare, according to the statement.

A public-private partnership, like that at LaGuardia, provides private entities with airport revenue after the project is finished, in exchange for financing and assuming risks, the aviation department said. The model in use at O’Hare helps provide coordination during design of the project, and allows the city to keep control of airport revenue and operation after the project is finished.

“We are not trying to overbuild at O’Hare, but we cannot under build, either,” the agency said in a statement. “A significant portion of the planned investment will replace aging and functionally obsolete terminal facilities, and Chicago must have airport infrastructure that allows us to remain a competitive economic center on the global stage both today and tomorrow.”

The O’Hare project

In Chicago, early plans for the Global Terminal, intended to allow travelers to move more easily between domestic and international flights, progressed with much fanfare. They were part of what was billed as the largest and most expensive terminal revamp in O’Hare’s history, a piece of a broader overhaul initially pegged at $8.5 billion. The price tag later rose to $12.1 billion.

The city launched an opaque selection process to pick design teams for the new terminal and satellites, with Emanuel saying at the time picking an architect was a priority before he left office in 2019. That year, the city selected a team led by hometown star Jeanne Gang to design the Global Terminal. Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, known for designing the Willis Tower and the former John Hancock Center, would design the two satellite concourses.

At the time, the city said ground could be broken for the satellite concourses in 2022, and the global terminal in 2023.

But costs grew and delays mounted as the project endured through three mayors, two aviation department chiefs, the COVID-19 pandemic, and inflation.

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